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Max Born
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About Max Born
Max Born was born on December 11, 1882, in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) and died on January 5, 1970, in Göttingen, West Germany. He was a notable figure in the realm of theoretical physics and mathematics, making crucial contributions to the development of quantum mechanics.
Born was married to Hedwig Ehrenberg, with whom he had three children. He studied at the University of Breslau, the University of Heidelberg, and the University of Zurich. He held teaching positions at the University of Göttingen, the University of Berlin, and the University of Edinburgh. Born fled Nazi Germany due to his Jewish heritage and moved to the United Kingdom, where he lived for the rest of his life.
Born's fascination with the mathematical underpinnings of the physical world led him to the field of physics. His interest in the quantum nature of light and matter sparked the revolutionary insights that would form the basis of quantum mechanics.
Max Born's Discoveries
Born's most significant contribution was his work on the interpretation of the wave function in quantum mechanics. Born postulated that the absolute square of the wave function represents the probability density of a particle's position, a fundamental concept in the theory of quantum mechanics.
This radical interpretation of the wave function, proposed amidst the heated debates on the physical implications of quantum mechanics, transformed our understanding of the subatomic world. It laid the groundwork for countless advancements in physics, chemistry, and related fields.
Max Born's Key Achievements
Max Born received numerous accolades for his seminal contributions to quantum mechanics. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1954 "for his fundamental research in quantum mechanics, especially for his statistical interpretation of the wavefunction." He also received the Hughes Medal of the Royal Society in 1950, and the Max Planck Medal of the German Physical Society in 1948.
Max Born's Formulas
One of Born's significant contributions was the development of the Born Rule, a fundamental law of quantum mechanics. This rule mathematically expresses the probability interpretation of the wave function:
Where:
- P: the probability that a measurement on a quantum system will yield a given result
- Ψ: the wave function of the quantum system
Max Born Tutorials and Calculators
The following tutorials and calculators are influenced by the work the great physicist Max Born, each calculator contains a tutorial that explains Max Born in the field